This Bittersweet Life
by rottenapples801
Summary: Fortune tellers are full of crap. I mean, she never told me I’d go home to a massacred hell that night. Or that I that I was seemingly living my life as a freak of nature without realising it. But at least she'd warned me about the biggest turn of my life
1. Chapter 1

_**HEY GUYS! YAY! THIS IS MY… I THINK MY 4**__**TH**__** FANFIC NOW?... YAY! HARHARHAR!!!... I HAVEN'T REALLY WRITTEN THIS KINDA STYLE B4 SO YA… IT'D BE AWESUM IF U GUYS REVIEWED! THANKS!...**_

…

_**DISCLAIMER: I THINK U KNOW THE DRILL…**_

_**MOMO'S POV…**_

I remember everything from that day that changed my life. Turned me to what I am. Lead me to where I am. I remember everything from what I had for breakfast to what I was wearing at the moment my life burned away with all my treasures and the people that I loved.

Anyway, I should start at the beginning…

It was a Saturday where my friends, Shun, Chiyuki, and I decided to go to the theme park. We didn't do anything to deserve what was going to happen to us that very night. We were only going there to celebrate the ending of yet another school year in Grade 8 and the day was coming to an end.

"Momo! I seriously can't believe that you don't like any guys! I mean, there are SO MANY guys that would bow down at your feet!" Shun, being the extroverted type, burst out.

"Shun! That's not it! Don't describe it so vaguely!" I replied back, the heat rising to my cheeks. I had many guy friends. Basically everyone in our grade were my friends and family. The fact that I didn't have a crush must've surprised Shun.

"You're so innocent! That's what makes you so cute! I mean, I remember the day in Grade 7 where you were like, "PENIS GOES WHERE?" That was SO funny! I mean, your face was so… A-haha!" Shun was now doubled over laughing her head off.

"Mou! That was cruel! I was only in GRADE 7! I didn't know what sex was okay?"

"And everyone found out when they were in Grade 5 or lower!" Shun chimed.

"AH! Chiyuki! Save me from this harassment!" I wailed and clung onto Chiyuki's arm. Being the calm, relaxed figure, Chiyuki immediately changed the topic to something that might grasp everyone's attention.

"Look. A palm reader." Chiyuki raised her arm and pointed at a small, white tent. As planned and pleaded by myself, everyone walked towards the stall.

"This looks fun! Let's see if Momo actually takes interest in a guy!" Shun cheered and boosted to the front of the group.

"No! That's not-" I was cut off by the sight of Shun already paying the fortuneteller money. Sighing, I trudged into the tent with her friend.

"Hello darlings! Have a seat! Now, who's having the reading?" A woman in her late 20's took a seat on a cushion on the floor. Before I could say anything, Shun pushed me forward. I turned around and looked at Chiyuki with a look reading, "SAVE ME!" but she just nodded as in to tell me to go ahead.

I took a seat on another cushion on the ground in front of the lady. The woman tenderly held my hands in her own and read my palm.

"You… develop exquisite talents in the future… along with this will come… how to say this, a precious person… they will enter your life… they'll be a friend. A protector… and they have a high chance of becoming your lover! However, this will come with a great cost but things will turn out for you in the end…"

"OoooOOOOooohhhHHHHHhhh!!!!! A lover! A lover!" Shun sang out only to be shut up by Chiyuki who grabbed her arm. Hard.

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The night's cold air bit our skin as we made our way to my house to have some tea before my friends left. We were all talking about all of the fun we had that day.

"Man, Chiyuki! You never screamed on the rollercoasters! At least scream for the sake of fun!" Shun said, putting her hands on her petite waist.

"It's noisy."

"But that's what rollercoasters are known for! To make their riders scream as they rocket through their twisting tracks! HARHARHAR!"

"What's the point if you only wanted to see me scared?"

"…"

I smiled at the sight of Shun's dramatic debates being completely owned by Chiyuki's short, logical statements. We opened the front door to my home where we entered, expecting my brother, Sousuke and my parents to greet me.

I was adopted when I was 2 so I never really knew my parents. I go by my birth name, Momo Hinamori but my adoptive family name is Aizen. I had the nicest, loving parents and the coolest brother! I thought things would stay this way. Or… at least I thought it would…

My friends and I were only greeted by a silent hallway, which echoed every sound we made.

"Uh, Mum? Dad? We're home!" I called but got no response.

'_They must be upstairs…' _I thought and ran up the stairs after telling my friends to wait for me in the hallway. I ran up the stair and searched every room, even the balcony to check if we were the only ones in the house. No one.

'_But mum and dad are normally watching TV at this time and Sousuke's normally doing his homework!...'_

I ran down the stairs to tell my friends that my family wasn't home to find them gone. They weren't there.

"SHUN! CHIYUKI!"

No response came back.

'_Where did they go?... I told them to wait here!...'_

I jogged across the hallway into the living room but nobody was there. I turned the TV on to see what was on to find "The Seventh Sense" playing.

'_OK! That's mum and dad's favourite movie and they would NEVER miss it! Something's wrong!...'_

I walked around the corner to the dining room to see if they were there. First, I couldn't see them hunched over, lying asleep at the dinner table. I exhaled a long sigh of relief and made my way towards them.

'_They'll get a sore back from sleeping there…'_

"Mum! We're home! You'll get a sore back if you sleep here!" I whispered into her ear and started to shake her when she didn't respond. "Mum! I know you're tired but at least sleep in your bed! Mu-"

I stopped shaking her when I realised something was on my fingers. I raised them up to my face to only gasp in horror. Blood. Red, fresh and shining in the light of the small chandelier above our dinner table. I gently grabbed her shoulders and sat her back to find a deep, cut stabbed into her throat.

Not knowing what to do, I ran over to the opposite end where dad was slouching and sat him up as well only to find stabs in his chest. I stepped back but only slipped on a wet substance on the tile floor.

'_Crap… that hurt…'_

I rubbed my head and opened my eyes to only have a scream escaping my throat when I found myself lying in my parents' blood. I tried to get up but only slipped again, soaking myself to the skin in the red liquid. Choked sobs were escaping my throat as I quickly stumbled onto the couch of the living room for support.

'_Wait… Mum and dad are the only ones that are here! Then… where's Aizen?... and Chiyuki and Shun?...'_

I fell to my knees with my head in my hands, crying my eyes out. What was I supposed to do in such a situation?

_**RRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RRRRIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**_

The shrill cries of the telephone interrupted my cries as I quickly scrambled to pick it up.

"PLEASE! HELP ME! I dunno what to do and-"

"Woa! Momo! Calm down! Take deep breaths and tell me what's going on!"

"Sousuke! Mum and dad were murdered!"

"What?"

"They're dead!"

"Oh My, Okay! I'll be right there with the police and ambulance! Be careful and… stay in your room! No matter what, stay in your room until I arrive with the police! Okay?"

"Okay!" I sobbed before putting the phone down into the receiver and running upstairs into my room.

'_Thank God! He's alive!... Oh My God!...'_

I slammed the room door shut behind me and heaved in deep, heavy breaths. I quickly flicked the light switch on when I noticed two computed chairs in the middle of my room. I was barely able to make out arms and legs that were positioned as if the people sitting in them had their legs crossed with their arms on the rests.

"Chiyuki! Shun!" I cried, turning the chairs around only to scream as they both fell on top of me. Dead. Their blood splattered all over the floor, including me and ran through my hair. This time, the blood was warm. Unlike before, it was fresh.

I dragged myself out of the mess and stepped backwards towards my door before quickly turning around and-

"ARGH! LET! ME! GO!" My lungs screamed as my arms and legs thrashed but the strong, masculine figure just held me tight to his chest. I immediately calmed down at this warm embrace before recognising who it was by the smell that filled my nostrils. This smell. The unexplainable smell of my brother.

"Sousuke! You came! Oh my God!"

"Yeah, I'm here Momo! Calm down! The police will arrive any second!"

"Mum! Dad! Shun and Chiyuki… Oh, Sousuke!"

"Don't worry! They're in good places now… I mean, I should know!... I sent them there…"

Time seemed to have stopped at that very moment as the words took what seemed like millenniums to sink into my heart. Sent them there? What was that meant to mean?

'_No way… HELL NO!'_

I squirmed out of Sousuke's grasp and stepped away from him. He watched me move away as he slowly bent down and picked up a large bottle with a long nuzzle sticking out of it. He removed the cap from the tip of the lid and I immediately knew what it was as soon as the smell hit my nose. Oil.

"What are you doing?"

I watched in fear as he poured the oil all over himself, my friends and my room before slowly taking out a cigarette lighter.

"What are you doing?" I demanded but he only looked at me and smiled.

"Sayonara…"

The lighter fell to the ground and fire seemed to spread everywhere like a growing carpet. I screamed and watched my brother fall to the ground, being burned alive. I tried to make out a way to my bedroom door but everywhere seemed to be on fire. Panic took over my brain as I bumped into something behind me. A window.

Following my instincts, I quickly opened the window and looked down. The swimming pool. Without a second's thought, I threw myself out of the window to feel hundreds of cold needles hitting my back as it came in contact with the water's surface. The air was knocked out of my lungs as I fell to the bottom of the pool. Darkness was starting to take over me as realisation hit me too late…

'_I can't swim…'_

…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

_**THANK YOU 4 READING! IT'D BE GREAT IF YOU COULD LEAVE A REVIEW! HINAMORI'S FLASHBACK WILL BE CONTINUED IN THE NEXT CHAPPIE!...**_

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	2. Chapter 2

_**HEY GUYS! YAY! SECOND CHAPPIE!**_

…

Light filled my eyes as I slowly opened them, waking up to the beeping sounds of machines and talking people. I clenched my fists as I opened them, taking in my surroundings. A white room, machines, bed, TV… I was in a hospital…

'_So I __am __alive, huh?...'_

Tears escaped by eyes as last night's event reoccurred in my brain. Wails started to escape my throat as I hunched over. How was life going to be like now? Why wasn't I dead with my parents and friends? Why? Why did Sousuke do such a thing? Everything was why, why, why…

At that moment doctors and nurses came rushing into the room and offered me tissues. Behind them, a detective and a policemen trudged into the room where they took a seat on a stool next to my bed.

"Hello Momo! I'm constable Johnston and this is detective Kimberley! We're going to ask you a few questions and you have to answer them truthfully okay? You don't have to answer some if you don't want to! But we just want some truthful answers!"

I nodded in agreement. They were here anyway. What could I do?

"Did your parents abuse or harass you in any way?"

"No."

"Did you hold any grudges against your friends?"

"No."

"Where were you and what were you doing from 9am to 6pm?"

"Me and my friends went to the theme park after meeting at my house at 10am and arrived home at 6:30pm…"

"That gives us one hour in the morning. She would've stayed at her house until 10am."

One hour in the morning? What was that meant to mean?

"Okay. This is the last question. You look into my eyes and tell me straight on the truth. Did you kill everyone and start that fire?"

"Huh?"

"I'll repeat that question. Did you, Momo Hinamori, kill everyone and start that fire?"

Time seemed to have stopped at that moment. Were they suspecting me? Why? Just because I was the only survivor of this massacre?

"Why?" Were the only words that escaped my mouth at that moment.

"Excuse me?"

"Why are you doing this to me?"

"Momo-"

"NO! Are you suspecting that I killed everyone and burned my house down?"

"We're just checking! Now, you can answer the ques-"

"DOES IT LOOK LIKE I'M LYING? WHAT MORE CAN THIS WORLDS TAKE FROM ME? I-"

I stopped short as I felt something sharp go into my arm. Everything turned black.

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"Dude! Shaddap! She's waking up!"

"She's kinda cute, huh?"

"I bet she heard that!"

"What? No way! She's still-"

"SHE'S AWAKE!"

I opened my eyes to find two boys around my age looking down upon me. I tried to get up but my head started to throb when I did.

"Urgh… what happened?"

"Dude! They had to give you sedatives!"

"Sedatives?"

I then recalled the sharp object going into my arm before passing out.

"Yea… so it was a sedative, huh?"

"ANYWAY! I'm Anthony and this is Bob!"

Anthony had chestnut brown hair and blue eyes while Bob had black hair and green eyes. The two then started to explain how they'd ended up in the hospital.

"And the dude behind me was like, "Wah!" and pushed me to keep his balance! Then I bumped into Bob! And then, Bob bumped into Toushiro! And we were all like, falling off the stairs! It was so funny!"

"Who's Toushiro?"

"Oh, he's another friend of ours! Anyway, Bob and I were like "HARHARHAR!" and Toushiro was like-"

"I was like, "How come I have to stay in the same room with two idiots and have the worst injury out of the three of us?""

We all turned around to see another figure standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. He had gravity-defying, white hair and striking turquoise eyes. Unlike Bob and Anthony, who only had broken arms, Toushiro had to use crutches. He first smirked at Anthony and Bob before turning to me.

"Who's the chick?"

"My name's not chick! It's Momo Hinamori!"

"Ah…" Toushiro's ignorance was getting VERY annoying that time until Bob asked me the question.

"So… why are you here?"

Everytime that something related to last night's events leaked into me, everything seemed to freeze. I felt sweat forming on my palms and tears creeping into my eyes, threatening to spill any moment.

"Oi! You shouldn't ask people random things after knowing them for less than an hour!" Anthony elbowed Bob in the ribcage.

"Are we sharing the room with her?" Toushiro's deep, icy voice seemed to grab my attention.

"Sharying?" I asked. I had NO IDEA that I was sharing my room!

"Well! Sharing is caring!" Anthony sang with an Elmo imitation.

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A week passed and Anthony and Bob were sent home, leaving Toushiro and I. The police came at least once per two to three days and asked me more questions that poured tears down my cheeks.

"Are you sure your brother did this?"

I nodded my head, wiping the tears out of my eyes with my sleeve. I was so sick of this! Why couldn't they just leave me alone?

"Momo Hinamori, I'm afraid if you don't stop acting like this the doctors will give you more-"

Toushiro then got out from his bed on the other side of my room and hobbled over to where I was with the cops.

"Can I help you?" Detective Kimberley stopped lecturing me and turned to my roommate, his eyebrow lifted.

_**THWACK!**_

Toushiro's fist went flying across the man's face, making him fall out of his chair. Constable Johnson quickly grabbed the white-haired boy by his shoulders and held him back.

"It's not human. Momo's just lost her parents and she should be given time to mourn. Instead, you're suspecting her of killing her own family and friends and burning the house down when you didn't even walk in her shoes. I hate people like you. People like you should just die."

My eyes widened in surprise.

'_Is he __helping __me?...'_

"Johnson! Let go of him! We're leaving." Kimberley rubbed a red bruise on his cheek as he walked out the door with his workmate. Soon as they left, Toushiro fell to the floor and grunted.

"He has dislocated his shoulder! Quick!" A doctor came rushing to his aid. "That's what you get for punching someone!"

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_**A WEEK LATER…**_

Today was my leaving day. The day I left the hospital. The day my life alone began.

"Toushiro! You're going to be there to say goodbye, right?"

"Yea."

I was starting to become fond of this boy. I wasn't sure if it was just a simple crush or just a bond between friends and family but it was nice to feel this in my world of torment. The nurses helped me take my bags down to the courtyard where a bus waited to take me to Karakura town. I then spent nearly two hours saying goodbye to everyone in the hospital and checking that nothing was left behind. After everything was over, it was time to leave.

I was guided to a bus in the courtyard where I was expecting to see my roommate for last goodbyes but he wasn't there. I waited for twenty minutes but he didn't come.

'_But he promised…'_

Tears started to form in my eyes as the thought of _'He's not coming…' _took over my mind. I got on the bus and took a seat next to a window at the front.

'_He's not coming after all…'_

The bus rumbled into motion and started off slowly when I heard a "thump, thump, thump" beside me. I turned around to see who it was. My eyes widened and the tears stopped. No way!

'_Toushiro…'_

He was hobbling along with the slow speed of the bus and looked like he was asking me to open the window. So I did. I knew it was unsafe to do so but I stuck my head out, which was where he suddenly dived in.

For a second, I couldn't believe this was happening but it was. His lips on mine. Stealing my first kiss. He then pulled out before handing me something. A necklace. It was half a heart with "ve you…" carved into it.

"Hey, young lady with the necklace! We're going to speed up now so it'd be nice if you could shut the window!" The bus driver called.

"Sorry!" I turned back to Toushiro. "See ya… sometime…"

He stopped hobbling in his crutches and waved me off as he got smaller and smaller in the distance…

END OF MOMO'S FLASHBACK…

_**THANKS 4 READING GUYS! NEXT CHAPPY'S GONNA BE ON MOMO'S LIFE 2DAY! SOZ, I KNOW THIS IS KINDA BAD BUT I'VE GOT A WRITER'S BLOCK NOW! PLEASE REVIEW!...**_

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	3. Chapter 3

_**YAY!... HEY GUYS! THANKS 4 READING THE LAST CHAPPY! YAY! TO BE FRANK, THIS AS EITHER GOT TO BE THE BEST OF THE LAMEST THING I'VE EVER WROTE... AND I'M SORRY 4 GOIN' 2 FAST IN THE LAST CHAPPY…LAWL… **_

MOMO'S TODAY…

Hinamori slid her classroom, G10-4 door open to another day. Another late day of school. Another late day of snickers and whispering. Another day of detention.

"Miss Hinamori, you'll be staying behind after school cleaning up! Get into your seat!" Her teacher squabbled, pointing to her seat right at the back of the classroom. The girl sighed, shutting the door and walked over to her desk. She didn't notice a foot shooting out and tripped over it.

_**THOOMP!**_

There was immediately an uproar of laughter. Momo quickly picked herself up and sat in her seat. Who'd tripped her?...

_**LUNCH TIME…**_

The bell rang and the teacher stopped droning on about laws of algebra. Hinamori sighed in relief and took out her bento. She opened it and took out her chopsticks when she walked over. Yes, her. Miku Kasegawa. Unlike Hinamori's petite, soft and cute features, this girl had MASSIVE breasts, dyed blond hair that was clipped back with a banana clip and a fake, tanned face. (a/n: This is NOT Matsumoto or Inoue!)

"So?..." Miku sat herself on the girl's desk and twirled her blond hair in her fingers. "Did Miss Hinamori enjoy the ride called 'My Foot'?"

'_So it was __her__ foot…'_

"Hey! Answer me freak! Or at least break something!"

The class burst out laughing at the pun. What did Momo mean by "The pun" and what did Miku mean by "freak" and "break something"? It was kind of hard to explain but the first time it happened was in Grade 9…

_**FLASHBACK…**_

"Hey cutie!"

Momo was packing up her books to go home when she felt a hand grab her shoulder. She turned around to meet a ragged-looking boy around two to three years older than her smirking in her face.

"Wanna come home with me tonight?"

"Ummmaa…." Hinamori looked around the classroom behind him to find that they were the only ones in the classroom. "No."

"Aw! Come on! We'll get freaky!"

"I said NO!"

"Aw, come on! It'll be fun!"

The boy grabbed the girl's hand tried to pull her towards him but she resisted.

"Leave me alone! Please!"

"Aw! But nobody's here! No need to worry!"

With that, the senior grabbed Momo's sleeve and tried to slide it off but she ran to the other side of the classroom in front of the windows.

"What're ya gonna do? Huh? Jump out the window into the pool?"

The girl's breath stopped in her throat.

'_Jump out window… into pool…'_

She felt the anger and sadness building up inside her.

"But your mum won't be there to see your dive!"

She started to clench her fists while eying the male walking towards her. She quickly bobbed down and covered her head with her hands and screamed.

"There's no use in screaming, lady! Nobody can hear yo-"

_**SMASH!**_

Hinamori's eyes clicked open to see shattered glass everywhere and the harasser on the ground screaming in pain, jagged pieces of glass sticking out of his back. Blood was dripping onto the floor.

'_What the hell just happened?...'_

The girl's eyes widened when she realised that all of the windows in the classroom were smashed but the pieces of glass wasn't on the floor. They were only on the boy's back. How? That was impossible!

Momo quickly seized the chance and ran home.

_**END FLASHBACK…**_

From that day on, things were just… happening? It was hard to explain. Everytime Hinamori felt emotional pain or was in great need of help; something would break and save or distract her.

A gasp pulled Momo out of her thoughts.

"Your bento is so purdy! It looks SO nice! But the onigiri looks," the girl poked at Hinamori's onigiri with her fingers before throwing it across the classroom. "Funny, eh?"

Well… the short version of the last 637 words… Life just… sucked…. A lot…

Hinamori trudged through the streets to the way to her apartment , kicking anything in her path. It was already 5pm because school finished at 3pm and it took a LONG time to clean the school up by herself. The sky was now going dark with an explosion of pinks, reds and oranges as the sun exchanged places with the moon.

The girl twirled a necklace between her slender fingers. One of half a heart saying "ve you…" waiting to be joined with the other half soon.

'_I'm gonna take a shortcut…'_

Momo then turned a corner into an alleyway where she sprinted as fast as she could until she reached a park.

'_My apartment should be three blocks away from here…'_

Hinamori knew the park wasn't a safe place to be alone at after 4pm because gangsters and drunks normally gathered there at night. She walked through the playground, trying to ignore a group of gangsters smoking near the swings.

'_I don't think they noticed me…'_

"Hey, look at that cute little lady over there!"

'_NNNNUUUUUUU!!...'_

The girl stopped in her tracks when the gang approached her.

"What's little miss lady doing alone at night in the middle of the park?... and in such a short skirt!"

Momo stepped back, panic rising in her. She desperately looked around her to see if there was anything she could use to defend herself. Even a glass bottle?

'_Nothing… perfect… NOTHING!...'_

Hinamori started to panic when she backed up and fell onto the slippery slide. Shocks went running up her arm when the side hit her funny bone. (AN: that REALLY hurts) She quickly yelped and grabbed her elbow to try and suppress the pain.

"Let's… have a little fun shall we?" One of the men snatched the chance to lean on top of her and try to undo her tie. Momo quickly brought up her knee, hitting the amateur in the nutsack. The male groaned in pain and rolled off her, giving her a chance to jump off the slide and run to the other side of the park only to be grabbed by the shoulders into a bear hug.

"NO! LET GO OF ME!"

The man started to trail wet, sloppy kisses down her jawline and down her neck to her collarbone. Tears gathered in Hinamori's eyes as she quickly looked around for a saviour. Nobody. Was this how things would go in her life? Just falling into deeper piles of cow shit?

'_No… I WON'T let this happen!...'_

Momo quickly bit the man's arm, making him scream in pain before shoving her off. Thrown off balance, she fell to the ground and shielded her face as the attacker raised his fist to punch her in the face when-

_**KA-THOOMP…**_

Hinamori slowly opened one eye before opening the other and lowering her arm to take in the sight before her. A white haired male with his fist in the gangster's stomach. Foam started to drip out of the gangster's mouth before he fell to the ground. His buddies quickly then ran towards the male with their fists raised.

"Hmph. This is troublesome. I'll just finish you without physical contact." The boy bellowed before raising his right arm with his palm wide open and bunching it into a very tight fist. Nothing happened for around two to three seconds but then the foes started to fall to the ground, gasping for air and grasping their chests.

'_What?...'_

Blood was starting to drip from their eyes now as some of them were going limp.

'_They'll die if this goes on…'_

Momo quickly got up onto her feet and pulled down her saviour's arm.

"You're going to KILL them!" She yelled as she forced the boy to release his fist. He obediently let go before turning around to meet her.

Hinamori's eyes widened when their eyes met.

'_White hair… turquoise eyes… no way…'_

"Toushiro!"

"Ah… How do you know my name?"

"What?"

"How do you know my name?"

"What are you saying? I'm Momo! Remember?"

"I think I know that…"

"So you remember me?"

"I'm afraid this is the first time I've met you."

_**SOZ 4 THE CLIFF HANGER… LAWL… AND SOZ IF THIS IS GOIN' 2 FAST 4 YA… I'M ON A SUGAR RUSH FROM MALTESERS… AT LEAST IT'S BETTER THAN ME TRYING TO WRITE WHILE I'M DRUNK ON FANTA…**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**HEY GUYS! THANKS 4 ALL THE REVIEWS IN THE LAST CHAPPY! YAY! URESHI!...**_

…

'_First time he met me?... did he forget me already?...'_

"So you don't remember anything? The hospital? Me?... do you even remember Anthony and Bob?" Hinamori's voice started to quiver as anger built up inside of her. Then again, she wasn't really sure if the feeling growing within her was anger, disappointment or heartbreak.

"I'll be frank with you and say that I can only remember from now to 20th of August last year."

"What? Why?"

"Can't remember…"

"Then what about this?"

Momo slowly raised her pendant around her neck. The one that Toushiro'd given her only two years ago. The boy first squinted his eyes in order to study the small object in the dark. He already knew it was half a heart just by looking at it and could just make out the "ve you…" carved into it.

'_**I've seen that somewhere… somewhere…'**_

_**BEEP, BEEP, BEEP… BEEP, BEEP, BEEP…**_

"Hmm?" The boy reached for his cell phone before sliding it open with his thumb and checking the caller ID. He quickly accepted the call and put the phone to his ear. "Ah, Haru. Yea, I found her. Mhm… Do you want her to pack her bags before coming or just come and bring her belongings tomorrow?... so pack tonight and come tomorrow?... yea, whatever… I got it… See ya."

Hinamori stared at Hitsugaya with wide eyes as he slid the phone shut and slipped it into his pocket again. Pack her bags? Come tomorrow? Most of all, "I found her"? What was going on?

"Are you taking me somewhere?"

"Ah."

"Where and why?"

"Those are questions for later."

Toushiro quickly then got out a piece of torn paper from his pocket before grabbing Momo's hand and sprinting out of the park. The girl was too desperately trying to catch up with the boy's rapid speed that it took her a few seconds to realise they were running towards her apartment. The two stopped in front of her door, where Hinamori pushed the key into the lock and clicked her front door open. Huffing and puffing, the female dropped her schoolbag onto the floor before dumping herself on her futon.

'_Wait… no, WAIT!...'_

"Hey, Toushiro!"

"What?"

"How'd you get my address?"

"That's also for later…"

"Mou, everything's for later with you!"

"Not packing."

"What?"

"Pack. Now."

"Why?"

"I'll make dinner while you pack. Don't pack everything 'coz you could always buy more stuff later."

"Okay…"

* * *

Hinamori had to sit on her suitcase to let it click shut. She didn't put much in there. Only around 6 t-shirts, 6 pairs of bottoms and at least 3 skirts, 6 pairs of underwear, 3 pairs of shoes and a few toiletries. However, her horrid skills of folding clothing seemed to hinder the task of packing them.

The girl then got off her suitcase, wiping her forehead and smiling with pride by the fact that she FINALLY shut the damn thing…

"Hey! I called you for dinner at least five times…" Hitsugaya walked into Momo's room wearing a black apron, staring at the girl's smile of pride. He then looked at her suitcase and raised his eyebrow when he saw a white bra sticking out. "Your bra's sticking out."

"Eh?" Hinamori quickly leapt onto the suitcase and covered the undergarment with her hand only to accidentally fall off the side and hear a loud "CLICK" before her suitcase opened again. The boy then sighed and gently massaged his temples with the thumb and fourth finger of his right hand as Momo quickly tried to slam the thing shut again.

"I'll help you with that later. Dinner's getting cold."

"You don't have to help me! I can do it by myself! It's okay!"

"A girl should at least put her underwear at the bottom. It's also more convenient to roll your clothes really tightly than to fold them. Briefly, you're hopeless."

"Hey! I'm not hopeless!" Hinamori fought back before looking at the dinner set up at her dinner table. Cup noodles? "At least I can cook a proper dinner!"

"Can you cook something with lettuce, milk, cheese, cup noodles and left over beef?"

That one really got her. Thinking of it, Momo needed to go shopping for groceries that night but had forgotten with what'd happened at the park.

"What flavour are they?"

"Pork and ginger."

"Hm… can't be that bad I guess…"

* * *

_**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEE-**_

_**SLAM!**_

Hinamori groaned as her hand seemed to automatically throw her alarm clock across the room, making it's batteries fall out. Her feet were the first ones to emerge from her thick blanket. She slowly made her way to her kitchen for breakfast.

Her groggy morning vision started to clear up as the sound of rushing water pouring from the shower filled her ears. Wait… she wasn't taking a shower…

"Huh?... Oh My God! Somebody's in my house!"

Momo grabbed a nearby lamp and ran towards where the sound was coming from. Without a thought, she knocked on the bathroom door with her knuckles. Again. And again.

"Yea, yea… Whaddya want?"

"Urgh!"

Hinamori quickly swung the lamp at the intruder but then froze when she realised that he'd caught it in his left hand before it even reached her face. She couldn't see his face properly due to the steam. Her hand quickly fumbled for a switch on the wall on her right and switched the fan on. The steam immediately started to clear up, making it easier to see the male's features.

"T-Toushiro? What are you doing here?"

"Taking a shower, baka."

"Oh My God! I'm SO sorry! I completely forgot what happened last night! I was really sleepy!"

"Yea, whatever."

"You okay?"

"Yea. More importantly… can you get out of my way so I can put some clothes on?"

"Huh?"

The girl looked down to realise that Hitsugaya only had a towel around his waist, showing off his well-toned body. A crimson blush rose to her cheeks as her hands flew to her face, covering her eyes.

"I'm SO sorry!"

"I got the idea. By the way, don't eat breakfast."

"Why?"

"We're leaving."

* * *

Silence hung in the air as the two teenagers sat next to each other on the train. Hinamori turned around and glanced at Toushiro, noticing that he was nodding off a couple of times.

"What time did you sleep last night?"

"It's none of your business." The boy retorted, rubbing his eyes with the back of his arm before trying to cover up a yawn but failing in the process. He was mainly a mature figure with an icy façade but sometimes, the way he acted was like a small child.

"Well, you're turning it into my business by nodding off next to me on the train!"

"I got some sleep."

"Just tell me! When did you sleep?"

"5am."

"But **I **woke up at 7! You were awake before me to be taking a shower!"

"Whatever."

"It's not 'whatever.'! Get some sleep."

"We're almost there."

"Where are we going?"

"Karakura."

"So far away?"

"It's not 'so far away.'"

"Whatever…"

Momo folded her arms and pouted her lips, looking away from her accomplice. She had to admit, he did change. She wasn't really sure how to explain it though… He still had the same, icy persona which was portrayed by his white hair, teal eyes and mature behaviour but something wasn't quite right… she couldn't say that he was 'distant' or 'colder'… he was just…

_**THUD…**_

Hinamori's chain of thoughts were smashed when Hitsugaya's head landed on her lap. Blushing, she leaned over to see if he was okay and giggled to find him asleep. Just like she said before. A child.

'_I just hope that he doesn't drool on my lap…'_

_**SOZ 4 THE LATE UPDATE! I ACTUALLY WROTE THIS THROUGH A WRITER'S BLOCK SO IT MIGHT BE KINDA BORING OR CRAPPY… I HAVE THE NEXT FEW CHAPPIES PLANNED OUT SO THEY MIGHT BE A LITTLE BETTER… THANKS 4 READING!…**_

…


	5. Chapter 5

_**HEY GUYS! THANKS 4 ALL THE REVIEWS! LAWL… IF U GOT ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS FANFIC, LIKE WHY TOUSHIRO'S FORGOTTEN EVERYTHING, THEY'LL ALL BE ANSWERED LATER ON IN THIS FIC…**_

…

_**DISCLAIMER: I DUN OWN BLEACH…**_

…

"Ummmaa… Toushiro? Wake up… We're here…" Hinamori lightly held the boy's shoulders and shook him gently but he didn't wake up. "Toushiro?"

"Mmmmm… 5 more minutes…"

"We can't stay here for five more minutes! We're at Karakura now!"

"I'm up." Hitsugaya instantly snapped his eyes open and sat upright before grabbing Momo's suitcase and bolting out of the train.

"Huh?" Hinamori quickly got off her seat and bolted towards the door too, just getting out of the transport as the doors started shutting. She ran over to her accomplice and caught up with his fast-paced walk.

"Where are we going?"

"To the mansion."

"What?"

"I'll tell you later so you can just-"

"Ah! Toushi-chan!"

The two teenagers looked up to see a small, boy that looked around seven to eight years old running up to them. He had light blue hair, which was in a shaggy cut with eyes, which were, strangely yellow. The child also had an eyepatch covering one eye, which had a long scar running down it. He wore a white button-up shirt on dark, jeans.

"Haruka? What are you doing here? You should be-"

Before Toushiro could finish what he was saying, he was engulfed in a hug, sending him falling to the ground.

"Wah! Toushi-chan's so mean! I came because I missed him!"

"Okay then…"

Momo watched the brotherly scene in confusion and curiosity.

"Ummmaa… Toushiro, who's… this?"

"I'm Arakawa Haruka! I'm Toushi-chan's teacher! You can call me Haru-chan!"

"You're… his… teacher?"

"MHM!" Haru nodded his head as a wide grin spread across his face from ear to ear, still hugging Hitsugaya. The boy then looked like he realised something as he let go of Toushiro. "We have to go! It's nearly lunch!"

The little boy then dragged Hitsugaya (with Hinamori following behind) by his hand to a minivan. Toushiro took his seat in the driver's seat while Arakawa and Momo sat in the back together.

"LET'S GET GOING, TOUSHI-CHAN!"

"Ah."

Hinamori couldn't do anything but smile. She didn't know much about the boy who referred to Hitsugaya as "Toushi-chan" but he was cute. He brought out a more brotherly side out of the icy teen.

"So! You now know that I'm Toushi-chan's teacher and we came this far to pick you up so we might as well spill the beans!"

"O… Okay?..."

"Have strange things been happening around you? Unexplainable things?"

"It depends how you put it… well… does it count if-"

"Things around you start breaking when you get emotionally hurt?"

"How… how do you know? First, it's my address and now… it's- it's… THIS! Were you stalking me?"

"Whoa! Calm down! Hey! A-"

"How long were you stalking me for?!"

"Okay… we weren't really "stalking" you. We just watched you for a year or so. Nobody's going to really die."

Haruka's eyes started to water as he looked at his feet and rubbed his hands together, biting his bottom lip. He then raised his head and looked at Momo in the eyes. Those creepy, yet beautiful yellow eyes. Those of a child's.

"It's okay… Don't cry!" Hinamori hushed, guilt washing over her.

"Okay… so… do you know why these things are happening?"

"…"

"Have you ever heard of psychokinetic energy?"

"Huh?"

"Sa-i-co-kin-ne-tic-e-ner-gy! Probably not! Some people refer to it as "mind-power" but I prefer not to because it's actually more complicated than it sounds. It can also be called telekinesis! My ancestors first thought that PK was only able to move objects but there's a lot more abilities out there."

"What grade are you in at school?"

"I'd normally be in grade two now but I was home schooled."

"Okay…"

"According to our observations, the majority of people with PK have suffered traumatic experiences. Like for you, it was when you brother… yeah…"

"How do you know this? I thought you said a 'year or so?'"

"That's simple. Toushi-chan told me."

Momo looked at the white-haired male in the driver's seat. Feeling that somebody was watching him, he looked back at her through the reviewer mirror. Their eyes met for a while but then Hinamori looked away.

"So DO remember?"

"No."

"Then how'd you remember that?..."

"Toushi-chan told me when he joined… He joined two years ago and then started losing his memory in 20th August last year…" Arakawa answered before looking up at the brunette and flashing a goofy grin. "He's got a special ability!"

"What's his?"

"He can reconstruct or control an organism's physical structure!"

"Huh?"

"He can move the cells that make up an organism's body around to remould it. You probably saw it when he saved you at the playground! He was probably reconstructing the cells that made up their stomachs!"

Everything was slowly making sense now.

'_That's why… wow…'_

The emotion that reflected in Haruka's eyes then changed drastically from excitement from making new friends to anger. Then, before Momo could do anything, the boy got up and jumped into the seat next to Hitsugaya.

"I THOUGHT I FORBID THAT! BAKA! WHAT IF YOU KILLED THEM? YOU'RE TOO RECKLESS!"

The child's fist flew into Toushiro's waist just as the van halted at a red light. Hinamori opened her mouth to say something and tried to get out of her seat but the sight was a little too disturbing. It would've looked light a fight between brothers from another car but it was so different when you could see the details up close.

Even though the kid was punching the Hitsugaya in the side, punching harder and harder everytime, Toushiro didn't do anything. He didn't even flinch or react. Just as if he couldn't feel anything.

Hinamori quickly tried to pull Haruka away from the male but failed, only to be pushed backwards into her seat.

'_Something to distract him! Something to distract him! Ummmaa…'_

"Hitsugaya! It's a green light!"

At that moment, Arakawa instantly calmed down and got back into his seat with Momo. The girl, still shocked by what had just happened, tried to forget about it to avoid awkward silences.

"You… okay?"

"Yea, I'm fine…"

"You sure?"

"Ah. It was my fault."

"But-"

"I'm driving."

Hinamori didn't bother to fight back as she knew that Toushiro would win anyway. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and leaned her head on the window. The girl had to blink every few seconds as cars, trees, houses and other structures seemed to pass by within less a second. Then, before Momo knew it, darkness consumed the van and the only things she was able to see were little lights hanging on the ceiling of where ever they were.

_**CRASH!**_

The female yelped and slid from her window seat into the seat in the middle so that she could see what was happening through the windscreen. They were driving through wooden road signs. Some saying, "STOP DANGER!" or "DANGER TERRITORY". Splinters of wood flicked off the windscreen as the vehicle speeded through everyone of them in their way.

"Hitsugaya! What are you doing? This is dangerous!"

"It's a shortcut."

"You can kill us!"

"I've been here before."

"But-"

"I'm driving."

Once again, defeated, Hinamori sighed and slumped back in her seat, gripping her seatbelt tightly. She could see it though. The light emerging on the other side. First it was a small pinprick but then it started getting larger. And larger. Until…

_**THANX 4 READING PEOPLEZ!... IT'S KINDA HARD TO REVIEW NOW COZ THINGS R GOIN' ON… SO YEA… THANK YOU!...**_

…


	6. Chapter 6

_**HEY GUYS! SOZ 4 THE LATE UPDATE! SERIOUSLY, I NEED STICKYNOTES TO REMIND MYSELF TO MY COMMITMENTS! URGH! I'M SUCH A DEPRESSING PERSON… ANYWAYS, SINCE SO MANY PEOPLE ARE BORED THESE DAYS, I MIGHT AS WELL WRITE THROUGH THIS STOOPID WRITER'S BLOCK AND DO MY BEST… THANKS!...**_

…

Hinamori sighed and slumped back in her seat, tightly gripping her seatbelt. She could see it though. The light emerging on the other side. First it was a small pinprick but then it started getting larger. And larger.

A large crash was heard as splinters and chunks of wood sprayed the vehicle as it bashed through some kind of wooden barrier. To Momo's surprise, she didn't need to squint her eyes as the sunlight was blocked out by a canopy of pine trees. She looked out the window and gasped in surprise at how tall the trees towered above them before she realised something.

"Toushiro! Is it really safe to drive between the tree trunks?"

"Yea…"

"But-"

"Don't talk big if you've never been here before."

Hinamori rolled her eyes before getting back to staring out the window again.

"We are officially out of Karakura now!" Haruka chimed from the front as he leaped into the seat next to Momo, slightly startling her. The little genius jumped up and down on the soft seat.

"What? Already? Doesn't it take a while to get out of Karakura?"

"That's if you take the free way! Which takes around two to four hours or maybe more depending on how the traffic is! We took a shortcut that we only know!"

Hinamori smiled at the little boy. He was cute with his large, enthusiastic, somehow innocent-yet-scary, yellow eyes and his baby fat. He was also a prodigy with his childish and unique, yet outwitting and intelligent ideas.

'_However… Toushiro's a fairly different story…'_

The girl gazed sadly at the back of the white-haired boy's head, unsure of what emotions she was meant to feel. Was she mean to feel happy because they were reunited? Sad or disappointed because he couldn't remember things clearly? Angry or betrayed that he'd forgotten about her and changed? Or should she just get over the facts that she knew him but was forgotten and act like two people that met for the very first time?

'_I have no idea… should I try to return his memory or just let him be… what happened, Toushiro?... No, I shouldn't call him by his first name when he doesn't even remember me… Hitsugaya-kun… yea… Hitsugaya-kun…'_

Momo sighed and looked out the window. Her eyes widened when she saw a large house, no, a **mansion** nestled in the distance around four hundred metres away. It was built in the old-fashioned Japanese style but by the way that it had a street light at the entrance, there was electricity.

"My great-great-great-grandparents built this place… I've been living in it for as long as I can remember… Surprisingly, I've never gone outside of Karakura town besides here and the airport… One day, I wanna go to Paris!" Arakawa explained, getting excited and bouncing up and down when telling the brunette about his fantasies of travelling to Europe. The car then halted as in the driveway of the estate and Toushiro took the key out of the ignition, returning the car back to its non-moving state.

"We're here." Hitsugaya grumbled, getting out of the driver's seat. Hinamori and Haru both followed, Toushiro locking the doors once they all evacuated with her luggage. The trio all entered the mansion with Momo lagging behind by a few metres, as she was simply awestruck by how large the place was.

"Oi, Hinamori. Hurry up or we'll leave you behind." Hitsugaya called.

"Mou! So mean! Hitsugaya-kun! I'm just... taking in the place..."

"You can take it in tomorrow morning. It's 5pm. Dinner's in an hour."

"O-ok... yea..."

"By the way, Inoue will show you to your room."

"I-Inou...e?" The brunette asked but didn't get an answer. She quickly ran after the boy and took her shoes off at the entrance and jumped back in surprise when maids took her shoes away. She quickly bowed her thanks before scurrying into the house.

Momo gasped, turning around in circles and gazing at the astonishing manor. Tatami mats covered the floor which seemed to be made of timber. The walls and ceiling were cream yellow and leather furniture was arranged around the rooms along with displays of expensive-looking vases and paintings. She'd only seen such places in books and photos and only been there on class excursions.

_**CREEAAAKK...**_

The female yelped and turned around at the sudden sound and sighed in relief when she realised that the house was old and would often creak. She'd just have to get used to it. She eyed a few china plates hanging on a wall when a small tear in the wallpaper caught her eye. She walked towards it and pulled it a little bit and gasped.

'_What is this?... some kind of... spy hole?...'_

Hinamori slowly leaned in to take a look through it. She couldn't see anything so far. She squinted her eyes and-

"Ah... Eto... Hinamori-san?..."

Momo yelled in surprise and jumped around at the same time, also causing the other person to the do the same; except she fell back.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" Hinamori quickly offered the individual her hand. The female smiled at her and accepter her offered help and straightened her clothes when she got up. She had long, ginger hair with bangs which reached her waist. Her large brown eyes stood out on her smooth face but were accompanied by her bright smile. It took a while for Momo to be astonished (or rather surprised) at the size of her massive breasts.

"I'm Inoue Orihime! Nice to meet you!"

"Hi..." Hinamori wasn't really sure what to do in this sort of situation. For the past two years, she was friendless and was always in her own world. Surely, two years wasn't a long time but with no friends to spend the two years with, two years seemed to be an eternity. She was always trying to make new friends but she just wasn't really... accepted...

"Hinamori-san? You okay? Would you like something to drink?"

"Ah, no! I mean, I'm fine! Thanks, Inoue-san!"

"Orihime! You can call me Orihime."

"Thanks..."

"I'll show you to your room!"

"Okay..."

For the next hour, Inoue showed Momo around the mansion. All the rooms, gardens, study places, libraries and other places. The two were quite tired and looking forward to a nice, long rest once the tour was over. Hinamori looked around her room. This place was also laid with tatami mats and had cream coloured walls. On the far side of the room, near her bed were two, large shoji doors which obviously lead to the garden. There was also a normal, wooden study desk with all of the necessary stationery, notebooks, textbooks and even a computer, printer and telephone.

"If you get cold during the night, the air conditioner also has a heater so you can just turn that on, okay?" Momo nodded in response to the big-busted girl. "Oh, by the way! **NEVER** go into the pine forest alone and without permission. There have been cases where students and teachers went in there and never returned. Actually, they're still missing... Nobody knows why but... YES! That MUST be it! They were kidnapped by aliens at a tea party!"

"Aliens?... Tea... party?"

"Yes! Aliens are sending mind signals out to people and inviting them to tea! Then they invite them and erase their memory if they send them home so that they don't tell their friends about it because they're running out of red bean paste!"

"_**IF**_ they send them home?"

"Well... there was once a time when Toushiro-kun disappeared in there too... he was gone for around eight months but Haru-sensei managed to saved him... but he lost all of his memory. And himself. And-"

"Oi, Inoue! It's not such a great idea to scare the newbie!" The two females whipped around to see who was standing at the doorway. There was a man in his early twenties. He had reckless, orange hair that stuck out everywhere. His eyebrows were knitted in a scowl which sat above his somewhat deep and determined eyes. He smirked at Orihime. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt you."

"S-s-sensei!"

_**LOOK, SOZ 4 THE LATE UPDATE! MY PARENTS RESTRICTED ME FROM MY COMPUTER AND INTERNET... CRIES... OKAY, I KNOW NOT MUCH HAPPENED IN THIS CHAPTER AND SOME OF YOU MIGHT FIND IT BORING BUT HEY! WHAT DOES TOUSHIRO'S MEMORY LOSS HAVE TO DO WITH THAT GIANT PINE FOREST? THE ANSWER IS REVEALED... LATER IN THE STORY... THANKS 4 READING AND I'D REALLY APPRECIATE REVIEWS! I LIVE ON THEM!...**_

_**...**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**YAY! I UPDATED! OMG!... STUPID WRITER'S BLOCK! THIS CHAPPY MIGHT NOT BE SO SATISFYING BUT I'M TRYING! THANK YEW REVIEWERS! THIS IS DEDICATED TO YEW!...**_

_**...**_

"S-s-sensei!" Orihime stuttered, scratching the back of her head and laughing nervously.

"Oi, I'm only two years older than you are! I feel old being called _sensei_ all the time..." The orange-haired man grunted.

"But it's not right to call someone that's been teaching you for the past five years by their name!"

"It is in this case..."

Hinamori stared at the two talking in awe. What was with the teachers here? There were teachers back at her high school that were up to twenty-three years old and popular with the students but... the teachers here... some were even younger than their students!

"Kurosaki Ichigo, nice to meet ya," the teacher held his hand forward, which Momo nervously shook.

"So, sensei, no! Ku-ro-sa-ki-kun! Sorry! When's lunch?" Inoue inquired, trying to check the time on his wrist watch, which he held high above her head for some reason so that she couldn't read the time. It didn't look like flirting much... more like...

"I-it's in five minutes!" Stuttering? Why was he stuttering?

"Argh! I was planning to help cook today! I might as well hurry and help them now!" The ginger-haired girl sang before prancing out of the room.

"No! Inoue! That's... not... such... a good..." Too late. She was out of the room. "Idea... Ah! Wait!"

Ichigo closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment before Orihime's voice could be heard again.

"Sensei! Can you **please** let go of my shadow? It's not fair!"

The teacher grinned and walked out into the hallway, followed by Momo- who was quite clearly confused. The teacher and new-comer both jogged out into the hallway where Inoue was standing. Well... she didn't really look like she was standing... more like not being able to move?

'_What's happening? How did he do that?...'_

Hinamori looked down onto the floor where she saw the large-bosomed female's shadow which seemed to be in the same posture and position as its owner was. However, unlike the ginger-haired teen, it didn't struggle or move as much. It was perfectly still.

'_What's with the shadow? It's somewhat unnatural... and strange...'_

"I can control shadows." Kurosaki explained in one sentence. "Give me one thing, anything in this world, that isn't transparent and doesn't have a shadow at the same time."

The brunette bit her lower lip as she thought hard. Speaking of which, she couldn't really think of any. Even glasses- which were mostly transparent- had a shadow sometimes. The sun and planets had a shadow... Did the stars have any shadows?

* * *

Momo timidly chewed on her takoyaki as she eyed (but was careful not to stare) and analysed everyone at the table. To her surprise, there were only nine people or so. The silence seemed to chew at her more than she did on her lunch.

"So..." A guy who looked around two to three years older than her with crimson red hair and tattoos all over his body started. Hinamori's head quickly snapped up from her plate. "What can _you_ do?"

"Me?..." The brunette stopped for a moment, taking in everyone's stares. (Besides Toushiro's) "I... can... move or break things?... I guess?"

"What level?"

"Excuse me?"

"What level are you on?"

The female had a puzzled look on her face and felt like an idiot. What the red-head was asking seemed to be like gibberish to her. It went through one ear and out the other. Like a train passing through a tunnel.

"Now, now. It is simply rude to intimidate and shoot questions at a newcomer like this before you know their name. I thought you would know that at your maturity level, Abarai-san. What a shame."

Everyone's heads turned to meet the hard gaze of a young girl who seemed to be around twelve years old. She had chalky white skin, as if she'd been recovering from a long-term disease like cancer or something. Her eyes, which were golden yellow just like Haruka's, stood out on her pastel face but were accompanied by perfect lips with a beautiful pinkish-red shade that you'd only see on models on the cover of magazines. She also had long, silky, chestnut brown hair that ran down to her waist, loosely tied in a long plait.

"I am sorry for being quite sudden but I do feel like eating something today. I also do need to attend to my new student? If I am correct, she would go by the name of Hinamori Momo?"

Captured by the girl's beauty and velvet voice, all Hinamori could do was slowly nod.

"Well, it is simply delightful to finally meet you. My name is Arakawa Natsuki. I'm your teacher and Haruka's older sister."

"Onee-chan! Is it really okay for you to be walking around now?" Haruka bounced off his chair and stood next to his sister, holding her arm in a death grip which didn't seem to really hurt her. Natsuki turned to her sibling and smiled, nodding.

"I also have a student to teach now. I cannot be in bed all day, now can I?"

"But you MUST tell ANYONE if you feel bad! Okay? MUST! It's a MUST! MUST! MUST!"

"Okay! I promise. You don't have to worry."

A smile broke out on the little boy's face and he grinned from ear to ear. Natsuki looked around the room as if she were in it for the first time. Well, not really the FIRST time... Maybe the way a person looked at their room and analysed it after coming back from a trip or vacation?

Her eyes settled when she noticed a flower pot on a window sill on the far side of the room. The ceramic pot held what seemed to be a merigold (It's a flower). The female shuffled her way to it and sighed. It was dead. Its leaves and stem dropping lifelessly as its flower petals lay on the soil.

"You didn't water it?" Natsuki asked, however the question seemed more like a statement. Haruka nodded before apologising.

"Sorry. I forgot."

The older sibling sighed as she put her hand on the soil and closed her eyes. She murmured something beneath her breath and deeply, yet slowly drew in her breath. She slowly raised her hand. Nothing seemed to happen for a moment, the dead flora still lay dead in its place.

However, after a few seconds, the dead flower sunk into the soil and a little bud sprouted in its place. Momo's mouth fell open.

'_Wait! Did she just grow another flower?... that's... impossible!'_

"No, I did not grow another flower. I simply made the dead one drop its seeds and stimulated them to grow faster. I cannot control life and death and thank goodness that those abilities are not in my possession. It would be more like a curse." Natsuki answered Hinamori's question as if she had read her mind.

"Then... what can you do?"

"I control nature."

"Nature?"

"Flora and the weather."

At that moment, a raven-haired girl- who was also quite short- brought an extra plate of lunch to the table for the young teacher. She got back into her seat and resumed eating again. Natsuki smiled as she sat herself in her chair between Momo and Haruka.

"Thank you, Kuchiki-san."

"Pleasure."

The black-haired female's slightly deep, yet gentle voice replied back.

"Gochiso-sama." **(AN: For those who don't know, gochiso-sama's a Japanese sort-of-greeting that you say after you finish eating.)** Hitsugaya grumbled, getting out of his seat. He pushed the chair back into its place before taking his plates and cutlery to the kitchen. Everyone was then silent for the next few seconds as they listened to the water running and kitchenware clattering against each other in the seat as they were being washed. The water was then turned off, leaving dead silence to wash over the room.

Once the group (besides Hinamori), thought that he was gone, there was noise again.

"That boy needs to cheer up a little." A buxom woman with strawberry blonde hair sighed. A few people nodded in agreement.

"But he's been like that ever since... the pine forest incident..." Orihime mused, pouring chocolate sauce over her potato salad with one hand as the other inched across the table towards the red bean paste.

"I tried my best!" Haruka blurted, his face flushed in the cheeks with a shade of crimson red. "But... it was too late. He didn't even remember me."

"None of this is your fault," Natsuki encouraged her blue-haired brother. "You saved him. There was nothing more to do."

"But... he changed..."

Momo's head raised at the last three words. She wasn't sure why but... she also knew that she had first-hand experience at figuring that out.

"And there was that time where he was acting all weird and strange from the time he came back after breaking his arm and leg... and dislocating his shoulder in the hospital where he was healing." A man with purplish-silver hair and a fox-like grin stated.

"None of us really know why he was like that, huh?" Ichigo asked. Everyone shook their heads besides Hinamori.

"Hinamori didn't shake her head. Maybe she knows something." The tattoo-covered red head said, pointing his fork at the brunette.

"Baka! Of course she wouldn't know anything! She only met him today!" The raven-haired girl smacked the male on the side of the head.

"DAMMIT RUKIA! Why do you always do that?"

"It's just a punishment for being such a hage!" **(AN: Hage in Japanese is "bald" but in this case, it's also used for calling someone stupid. Don't ask why. I learned it from watching Bleach... Owo...)**

"What did you call me?"

"That's not what's important!" Kurosaki yelled over the top of the bickering and everyone shut up, their gazes cast onto the carrot-top. "Why bicker because of someone who's only been introduced to the problem today, right?"

Everybody's flickered and they were eying Hinamori for the next few minutes, making her nervous. It was more like being stared down on. The strawberry-blonde haired lady from earlier then gasped and pointed at the bun-haired girl's chest.

"I REMEMBER THAT! Where did you get that necklace from?"

Momo wasn't really sure how to reply to that question as all the girls had started to gush all over it. Should she just tell the truth? Or just say that it was a present from a friend a few years ago? She was caught on that one.

"Oi, Matsumoto!" The room went silent as Toushiro's voice boomed from the kitchen. Had he heard everything? The white-haired boy trudged into the dining room with his hands in his pockets. "Lost things can't be mused over."

"We were just-"

"Shut up. You're such a pain."

As the boy started to walk out of the room, Hinamori stood up from her seat.

"But don't you **ever** think of recovering your memories? Ever?" She wasn't sure if she should've asked that but the question seemed to come out on its own.

"That's none of your business."

"You can't say that you don't! Don't you ever try? To at least remember **something-**"

"What if I don't want to?" Hitsugaya's scowl deepened and his gaze became piercing, his eyes burning in fury. The brunette was lost for words under his glare. Nobody said anything as the cotton-topped student left the room.

_**OKAY... YES, YEW CAN ALL KILL ME!... LAWL, JK... SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE... SIGHS... **_

_**OKAY! EMERGENCY QUESTION! IF YOU GOT A B-DAY PRESENT FOR A GUY YOU LIKED OR FOR YOUR BOYFRIEND, WHAT WOULD YOU GET HIM?**_

_**THANK YEW!...**_

_**...**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Yea, yea, I'm not dead. xDDDD. Feels kinda weird to be back though… O_O…**_

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Hitsugaya slid the door to his room shut behind him before sitting at his desk. He opened a drawer and dug through a pile of CDs. He couldn't find the one he wanted to listen to in the mess so he just grabbed a random one and put it into his CD player. He plugged his earphones in and listened to the songs.

'_Hhhmmm… Helena by My Chemical Romance… Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge…'_ **(AN: OMG! I LOVE THAT SONG SO MUCH!)**

The white-haired teen closed his eyes as he turned the volume of the music up and tried concentrating on the lyrics.

_**Long ago  
Just like the hearse you die to get in again  
We are so far from you**_

Burning on just like a match you strike to incinerate  
The lives of everyone you know  
And what's the worst you take (worst you take)  
from every heart you break (heart you break)  
And like the blade you stain (blade you stain)  
Well I've been holding on tonight

Toushiro raised an eyebrow when he realised the fact that he could still hear the loud-mouthed Matsumoto chirping about something downstairs. He turned the volume notch and increased the volume until his ears hurt.

_**What's the worst that I can say?  
Things are better if I stay  
So long and goodnight  
So long and goodnight**_

However, no matter how much he concentrated on the song, the questions kept on surfacing in his mind. The boy would sometimes be doing something- anything from exams to taking a shower- and random questions on his memory loss would come up in his head. Sometimes, but very rarely, he also had a few hallucinations too. They'd be random images of people he didn't remember flashing in his mind. He never told anyone about these as he never had the chance or needed to.

'_Are the memories from my past THAT important?... damn it… '_

Hitsugaya then jumped when Rangiku pulled out one of his earphones and yelled in his hear, "I CAN HEAR THAT MUSIC FROM OUTSIDE THE ROOM!"

"Oi! No need to yell! I'm not deaf!" He was slightly startled at the fact that he had been so occupied that he didn't notice the buxom female entering the room but composed himself.

"No you aren't but you will be if you keep on listening to music like that!" The strawberry blonde answered back, turning the CD player off. The white-haired student sighed in annoyance and pulled out his other earphone.

"Whaddya want?"

"Aw! You're so cold! It makes my heart ache! Especially to a teacher!" Matsumoto sang in Broadway style as she clutched her chest and dramatically fell to the floor.

"I don't have the time for this, Matsumoto." Toushiro bellowed, frustration ringing throughout the tone of his voice.

"Oh, right! I nearly forgot!" Rangiku quickly picked herself up off the tatami-covered floor. "Haruka-sensei needs you to help him test Momo's pk level!"

"Isn't that something the student's teacher should do?"

"Normally, yes but you can't forget!" Matsumoto's voice went down to a whisper. "Natsuki-sensei is terminally ill."

"Ah, whatever. It's not like I don't know…" Hitsugaya retorted, getting out of his chair.

"Mou! You have no sensibility at all! You're like a lump of ice! You need to soften up! Smile more!"

The male teen stopped on his way to the door and turned around to see the big-busted lady when she exclaimed the last two words. His facial expression was dark and grim but the corners of his lips pulled upwards. It was more like a sarcastic, yet threatening and murderous smile rather than a happy, cheerful one. It somewhat reminded Rangiku of the Joker from Batman.

The female immediately freaked out and ran past the student and out of the room.

--

Momo walked down the stairs with butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. She felt like she was going to vomit any second. Pk level test? What on earth was that? More importantly, how was it run?

Did they make her take an exam? Or an audition? Out of the two, the brunette preferred the audition. She wouldn't know anything about "pk" to take an examination. Wait, was it even an examination? What if it was just an analysis? Hopefully, it would be…

"Oi."

Hinamori whipped around, knocking a vase off its stand. Hitsugaya quickly dived forward just in time to catch the object in his large hands. The two teens sighed once they saw that the item was secure.

"I wouldn't knock anything over in this house… Not if you don't want to be in debt for the rest of your life."

A blush rose to the female's cheeks. She slowly took the vase from the boy's hands and carefully propped it onto its stand again.

"Th-thanks…"

"Geez, you're such a klutz." Toushiro grumbled as he got up onto his feet and brushed his jeans. "Pk test's this way."

Momo obediently followed the boy as he quickly strode through the mansion. She eventually had to jog to catch up, causing her to bump into the white-haired male when he suddenly halted in front of a wall. She looked around to see that they were at a dead end.

'_Huh?... where are we meant to go from here?...'_

--

Hitsugaya inwardly winced when another sharp pain shot through his temples. He quickly ignored it and reached a nearby clock ticking on the wall. He pushed the frame of it in before twisting it three times to the right and twelve times to the left.

--

Hinamori found it a miracle from the heavens that her mouth didn't drop open when the wall in front of them slid sideways, revealing a secreted room.

Every cubic millimetre was of the purest white, from the ceiling to the floor. When the two stepped into the room, the metallic sounds of their steps on the steel floor echoed around the room. The brunette found herself wandering around the room in awe before she could control herself. But there was nothing to explore.

As much as the room was white, it was also empty. There was not a single object in the entire space.

"Eh?! You got here before me!" The pair whipped around in surprise at the arrival of a new person.

"Of course we did."

"But that just makes me look rude!" Haruka ran into the room and slid the door shut. "Sorry for making you guys wait for me!"

"Ah, no, we only just arrived." Momo smiled reassuringly at the little teacher, receiving a beaming smile in return.

"Ne, ne, Toushi-chan! We need to set up the room!"

The blue-haired child slid a stuffed bear-like backpack that he'd been wearing off his shoulders and laid it down on the floor. He unzipped the zip –which was the bear's mouth- and took out a clipboard and pen before zipping it back up again.

Toushiro pushed a panel in the wall and pulled out a table with wheels on its legs. The items on the table were covered with a white sheet, leaving the brunette curious as to what they were.

Arakawa flipped through the documents on his clipboard with a face so sincere that it was rather scary to see it on such a youthful face as his own. He rubbed his chin as his lips pouted.

"It says here that your IQ was… 147 when you took a test at your school in Grade 9?..."

The brunette's mouth dropped open.

'_I seriously have to find out how they're getting all this information…'_

"Y-yes…"

"Hhhmmm… okay! That's all we need to know! For now, that is."

The yellow-eyed child flipped the paperwork on his clipboard so that he was back on the first page, whipping a blue pen out of his pocket. He nodded his head at Hitsugaya, who reached over and pulled the white sheet off the table, revealing its contents.

Hinamori's eyebrows creased together. How did any of these items have _**anything**_ to do with "testing" her?

"We're only going to record your current strength levels and reflexes and such…"

'_Oh…'_

A sense of relief immediately washed over her.

That was until a glass vase came flying towards her head. A shriek of surprise burst out of her lungs as she quickly ducked, letting the object smash on the wall behind her. Haruka sighed, shaking his head and clicking his tongue at the same time.

"That won't do… Your reflexes may have saved you but there were many flaws in that one act you did."

Momo's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Flaws?... what… flaws?..."

"Well, it depends on what kind of situation you're in… if you were trying to sneak into a guarded area, your shriek would have given away your position and the fact that you're there and now that the glass has smashed…"

The brunette's breath hitched when a large pair of calloused hands quickly twisted her arm behind her back and held a jagged piece of the vase to her throat. Her heart pace quickened but she didn't show it.

"You wouldn't…"

"Because I'm not allowed to…" Hitsugaya's hot breath on her neck sent shivers down her spine as goosebumps rose on her skin.

"EH?! That was horrible, Toushi-chan!"

The white-haired male immediately let go of the bun-haired girl and stepped back. Arakawa's yellow irises shifted to Hinamori as she got back into her normal standing position, somewhat unable to slow her breath.

"It's rush of adrenaline… it'll go soon… Momo, if this were a real scenario, you'd be dead. _Butchered_… after they give you a few roughies for information…"

The female chewed on her lower lip as her gaze fell to the white, tile floor. "You speak of torture… murder… and self-defence… exactly, what is it that you guys do?"

"And what difference would it make if we told you? As to if we decided to never tell you at all?" Hitsugaya quickly snapped back. Glares were exchanged.

"Well, maybe I'd know if you answered my question first."

"No."

"Why?"

"Protocol." The last word exchanged quickly veiled the atmosphere with silence. An icy pair of irises stared down the brunette in front of them as she sunk into even more confusion and curiosity.

"Then, why are you guys so uptight?"

"It's called being-"

"Oh, don't mind him!" Haruka quickly broke the ice before turning to his white-haired student. "There's no need to be so rude to her! It's not her fault! Today's her first day, jeez. What if it were _your_ first day here? You'd think that we were a bunch of superhero-like creeps surviving in a freakishly big forest in a mansion just dumped in the middle of nowhere! Right, Momo?"

Hinamori felt a sweat drop.

"Unfortunately, I don't seem to remember what I thought of you back then." If looks could kill, Hitsugaya would have been responsible for the death of a teacher and a new-comer right at that moment.

The blue-haired child's arm quickly shot out and grabbed his student's t-shirt around the stomach and yanked. Hard. With his mouth falling open in a silent cry, the older male toppled to the tiled floor. His teacher leaned down and whispered something into his ear before helping him up.

Toushiro quickly turned to Momo. "I'm sorry."

The female would have answered but she was rendered too speechless to do so.

"Anyway, the nicer, cleaner and much gentler version of what Toushi-chan just said is that we can't tell you anything unless you pass all your tests!" The yellow-eyed teacher's bounciness quickly shot back into him.

"How do you pass them?"

"Hmmm…" The young boy chewed on the tip of his thumb in deep thought. "I guess you can't really pass them… seeming that you can't fail them… Ne? But don't worry! We're only going to ask you a few questions and get you to do a few things so the test will be a breeze!"

The reassuring was followed by a double thumbs-up as Hitsugaya moved to the table and pulled the white cloth off.

* * *

_**Ahaha, soz for the sudden cut-off but I'm sure that if I write any more on this chapter, it'd turn out really crappy so yea. X3333.**_

_**I sincerely apologise for my extremely late return but things haven't gotten much better (unfortunately) but I may be able to update in the next month or so. Hopefully.**_

_**Thank you!**_


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